Quite well phrased and rather eloquent. On reading your introduction,I was worried that the house metaphor would be trite, but you analyzed and likened the two very well. You made good points. This was a brief piece, but it said a lot. I hadn't thought about chivalry much; your analysis has given me much to think about. I would concur with your other review, that perhaps the cursing is not necessary- it is a good example, but it takes away from the overall professional tone of the story.

Mr. Mason, I agree with you. I think that you may want to go back and take your own cursing out of paragraph three. Also, communism is degenerate from all levels.

From the bottom up: Ivan and Phil are sent to dig a ditch. Phil starts digging and Ivan just whiles away his time napping. When the payday comes, both men are paid 20 rubles eventhough Phil did all the work. So, the next month, Phil spends his days napping too and the government either pays them both for nothing or ships them off to siberia.